Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said there were no surprises in omnibus budget Bill C-45 and urged critics to read the federal budget. The Star did read the budget and here is what we found.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty takes the opposition to task during question period in the House of Commons on Thursday.

By:Joanna SmithOttawa Bureau, Published on Thu Oct 18 2012

OTTAWA—Finance Minister Jim Flaherty gave his “no surprises” message a snarky tone on Thursday, as he accused opposition MPs critical of legislative changes included with his omnibus bill of not having read the budget.

“There is nothing new. What is in the bill today is in the budget. If they have not read the budget, I would say to my honourable friends on the other side, ‘I do not know what you did all summer. You got paid. You had a good pension plan. So, do your work. Do your job,” Flaherty said during question period in the House of Commons on Thursday.

“If members have not bothered to read it and have not bothered to pay attention, I suggest they ought to perhaps take the weekend and review it,” Flaherty said.

The Star did read the budget and (surprise!) there are a number of items in the 443-page second budget implementation bill — another omnibus collection of proposed legislative changes called Bill C-45 — that did not get a mention in the March 29 federal budget.

The Navigable Waters Protection Act was not mentioned once in the federal budget, but Bill C-45 would rename it the Navigation Protection Act and exempt infrastructure projects that could affect Canadian waterways — except the 162 oceans, lakes and rivers mentioned in the bill — from needing federal approval.

The only mention of the Indian Act in the federal budget has to deal with direct taxation arrangements, but Bill C-45 would change the way band members vote on and approve the designation of land.

The federal budget mentioned the Canada Labour Code once, in a section boasting about what the Conservative government had done for seniors by prohibiting federally regulated employers from setting a mandatory retirement age.

Bill C-45 would set a six-month limit on the amount of time employees can complain under the Canada Labour Code about their hours, wages, holidays and vacations, although the labour minister has the power to grant exemptions for special circumstances.

The federal budget said the Canada Employment Insurance Financing Board, which sets rates for EI premiums, would continue to do so for the next few years, with annual rate increases capped at 5 cents.

The budget did say the federal government would “review the size and structure” of the board to ensure cost-effectiveness, but Bill C-45 gets rid of the board entirely.

The Merchant Seamen Compensation Board would also cease to exist under Bill C-45, its authority transferred to the labour minister, despite not being mentioned in the federal budget.

Speaking to reporters after question period on Thursday, NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair turned the advice from Flaherty on its head.

More on thestar.com

We value respectful and thoughtful discussion. Readers are encouraged to flag comments that fail to meet the standards outlined in our
Community Code of Conduct.
For further information, including our legal guidelines, please see our full website
Terms and Conditions.